It’s Kaypee-Tinu face-off in Adampur after 15 years

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 12

It will be a repeat of 2002 as former minister Mahinder Singh Kaypee, whose candidature from the Congress was announced today, will contest against sitting MLA Pawan Tinu from the Adampur Assembly segment.

Kaypee and Tinu had come face-to-face 15 years back as both of them had then contested from Jalandhar South seat (now Jalandhar West after the last delimitation). Tinu, who was the BSP candidate then, had lost to Kaypee by 13, 485 votes.

The situation was different in the constituency. “Tinu was a candidate from a weaker party. He is now a sitting MLA of the Akali Dal and is riding on party’s achievements, including the foundation stone laying of airport in the constituency, laying of sewage works and upgrade of Bhogpur sugar mill. Kaypee was then banking on the fact that his father and five-time Congress MLA Darshan Singh Kaypee, had been killed by militants just 10 years back. Kaypee, who has been out of power for 10 years, has now come on a different turf,” said a political observer from Jalandhar.

There are other factors on which the fight will depend. It is believed that Pawan Tinu has been facing dissidence within the party with Akali leaders including councillor Darshan Singh Karwal and his two brothers, and SGPC member Gurcharan Kaur Kalra, while political observers say Kaypee has no such dissidence as two other claimants from the party have got adjusted well. Satnam Kainth, who contested the last time, is now the candidate from Banga while Seth Satpal Mal had joined the Akali Dal and is now the candidate from Kartarpur. The presence of the AAP and the BSP candidates from the reserved seat too would be other deciding factors.